Sergeant Shadeslayer
by Lynne Cullen
Summary: Eragon is offered a deal - his family will recieve money for every secret he finds out from the army. But first he has to join the ranks of the King's Army. How will Eragon react when he finds a blue stone and a torured elf? First fan fic. AU Arygon R
1. Prologue

**A/N – This is my first fan fic and I'll do my best to update regularly – if anyone wants me to continue the story. REVIEW! D**

**Lynne xx**

**Summary – What if Eragon was drafted into Galbatorix' army but was paid by a stranger to tell all the secrets he can find? When he finds a strange blue stone and discovers the tortured elf will he finally loose his cool and desert the army to return to Carvahall. **_**AU. Maybe EragonxArya. First Fan Fic**_

**Prologue**

Eragon was out late when they came for him. He was out hunting further away from home than he had ever dared go. He wasn't far from the edge of the Spine when he heard them.

"The captain will be disappointed if we don't come back with more… volunteers."

Eragon knew they were probably soldiers searching for new recruits for the army. He was interested in what they had to say and crept closer.

"Then we'll just have to find some then, won't we?"

Suddenly Eragon was grabbed from behind and his mouth was covered by gloved hand to prevent him from shouting.

"Shh – don't struggle – I'm not here to harm you."

Eragon did as he was told and felt the stranger lean down to whisper in his ear.

"I am prepared to give you money – money you've never dreamed of! All you have to do is volunteer for the army and tell me any information you can find out. I'll pay you for every one! Of course you will have to be a model soldier so you can move up the ranks and become friends with those of higher up."

The stranger waited patiently for that to sink in, and then asked Eragon if he would accept the proposal.

Eragon hesitated – it was just what his family needed! They were always short of money and now they would have one less mouth to feed as well. There was just one problem; the recruiters never came to Carvahall because of its location and lack of volunteers – so Eragon would have to join here and therefore wouldn't have a chance to tell his uncle or Roran where he had disappeared to.

The stranger seemed to have realised what he was thinking. "Don't worry about your family. I will tell them about our arrangement. And the money will be delivered straight to them."

"How will I get the information to you?" Eragon asked – the stranger had removed his hand once he was sure Eragon wouldn't call out.

"You will send it by messenger – he is in the employment of the army already," he replied, "What is your final decision?"

"Yes. I will do it," Eragon told him.

"Good. Now go and tell the recruiters that you have been following them but were too shy to join!"

"One question first though. How do you know who my family are and how to contact them?"

"There are a lot of things that I know about you Eragon!" the stranger shrank back into the shadows and Eragon turned to face the soldiers. _I can do this_, he thought.

"Uhh… excuse me but I'd like to join the King's Army…" Eragon said nervously as he stepped out of the Spine and into the open.

Two soldiers looked at each other and grinned, "You'll do," the larger one said.

**A/N – What do you think? Review and say whether I should continue this story or not. REVIEW! please?**

**Ps I will try to make my chapters longer.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N – Sorry I took sooo long to update – I had a basketball day camp and I never got back till late last night. I got some really good reviews so thanks! If you have any question about the story just ask me! I don't know how often I'll be able to update because of homework but hopefully I won't have much! )**

**Lynne xx**

**Disclaimer – I do not own Eragon (Even though I never put a disclaimer in the Prologue - oops)**

**Chapter 1**

**5 Months Later**

Eragon sat on the available seat and waited for his commander to start speaking. Patience was an important skill in the army – if you weren't prepared to wait for the right moment then you could die.

"Thank you for coming, Roran," Eragon had given his name as Roran in the hope that it would be harder for anyone to track him down if he had to leave in a hurry. "I understand that you have been the soldier every commander dreams of and for that I'm going to give you another promotion. Congratulations, Sergeant!"

Eragon was speechless. _I thought you had to be in the army for at least 6 years before you could become a sergeant. _But when Eragon voiced his thoughts his commander simply replied that the army liked to distinguish a proper soldier from the riff-raff early on.

"Thank you, sir. Will I be given a platoon to command? Or do you think I'm too young for that just now?"

"I'm afraid you won't be given a platoon just yet. We want to make sure you have good leadership skills first. So to test you we'll put you in charge of the guards at the prison in Gil'ead." Eragon's commander leaned forward and said in a much quieter voce, "I must warn you that there is a very nasty character expected there with a prisoner – Durza. Do _not _get on his bad side – he can do things you've never dreamed of…"

"Thank you, sir. I'll do my best to keep to your advice," Eragon replied shakily. As soon as he was dismissed Eragon walked towards the section of the barracks where the stranger's messenger was staying.

The messenger was a middle aged man who was slightly overweight and almost always slightly drunk although he never had a problem memorising messages.

"Excuse me, kind sir but would you tell our 'friend' that I have been promoted to sergeant and that I have been transferred to the prison in Gil'ead. Also that I'm sure something is going on there since I was just warned that an… 'odd' man named Durza might be bringing a prisoner there." Eragon had had to lean down to whisper in the messenger's ear as he was sitting down.

The messenger looked up at him and nodded expressionlessly. Eragon turned and left that section of the barracks and made his way to his own part.

Thoughts of who and what exactly Durza was floated through Eragon's mind. There was a small forest just outside the camp and Eragon decided to take a walk through it to clear his head.

Eragon was used to walking through the Spine although this forest was only a small fraction of the Spine's size.

Eragon's attention was caught by the hopping of a large hare and he wished that he had brought his bow and arrow here as it would have made a nice change from the mess hall food.

Just for practice Eragon stalked the hare to see if he had lost his skills. As the hare neared a small clearing Eragon paused to watch it nibble on a plant.

The hare looked up, startled and bolted as a loud explosion blasted through the air. Eragon stumbled backward as a fiery wind blew past him and tripped over a tree root.

As Eragon struggled to his feet he looked at the clearing which was now scorched and had a faint smell of burning.

Eragon was mildly surprised that he hadn't noticed the biggest change first – there was a well polished blue stone lying in the centre of the clearing with tendrils of mist and smoke gently caressing it.

Eragon slowly edged closer to the stone and gently nudged it with his boot. He jumped back in case anything happened although nothing did.

Eragon walked more confidently towards the stone and warily picked it up. Again, nothing happened.

The stone's surface was very smooth and unblemished. It was a dark blue in colour except for the thin veins of white that decorated it. It was oval shaped and about a foot long. It weighed about several pounds although Eragon got the impression that it should have weighed more.

_What is this? Is it safe? What is it for? How did it get here? _All sorts of questions whizzed through Eragon's mind but he knew none of the answers.

Eragon was very suspicious about the stone. He wondered why it appeared here and who it was for.

_I guess I should be heading back to camp now – before anyone gets suspicious. _Eragon took off his jacket and gently wrapped it about the stone in the hope that no one would ask him what it was. It was his day off tomorrow so he would go into town and ask some questions.

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_**Far Away…**_

"WHERE? _Where _have you sent it?" Durza snarled at the woman sprawled on the ground.

"I would _never _tell _you _!" Arya whispered back

Arya covered her ears as Durza howled his rage at her.

"You will _pay _for this!" Durza whispered back menacingly.

**A/N – What do you think? REVIEW! D**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N – Sorry for taking so long guys but when your dad crashes the computer there's not much you can do... lol. Now I've got a new, better pc it might encourage me to actually write! On with the story**

**Lynne**

**Xxx**

**Disclaimer – I do not own Eragon**

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********************Chapter 3**

Eragon slept well the next night and woke up earlier than usual – just before the sun rose. After changing into his uniform he picked up the stone, still wrapped in his jacket, and placed it gently into a bag.

The traders were camped just a twenty minute walk away and Eragon was going to find out how much the stone was worth. He would send the money off to Carvahall for Roran and Garrow – after spending a little on himself.

The traders' caravans were parked in a jumbled mess but after asking for directions he found the caravan that the jeweller stayed in. Eragon knocked on the door and the man he knew as Merlock answered.

Merlock looked down at him from the door of his caravan and asked what Eragon wanted.

"I would like to speak in private, if you don't mind," Eragon replied. As Merlock looked over Eragon's uniform a look of fear came to his face.

"Have I... done something wrong?" Merlock gulped. It took Eragon a few seconds to realise what he was talking about.

"No! No, it's just that I wouldn't like certain people to find out about what I'm showing you."

A look of relief cleared Merlock's face. "That's fine then. Come on in."

The caravan was cramped but homely. There was an empty chair in a corner and Eragon sat down on it. Merlock cleared another chair and moved it so he was across from Eragon. Eragon gently pulled the stone out from his bag and slowly unwrapped it from his jacket.

Merlock extended his hands and Eragon placed the stone in the jeweller's hand. "Interesting," Merlock muttered. He reached over and grasped a magnifying glass and examined the stone.

"It appears that the white veins running through the stone are made of the same substance as the rest of the stone – although I have never seen or heard of a material such as this." He pulled out a set of scales and deftly weighed the stone. He then grabbed a blunt dagger and tapped it against the stone.

"This stone is hollow, sir. Do you have any idea what could be in it, if anything?"

Eragon thought for a moment. "No... I found it in the forest not far from here – it appeared out of nowhere."

"Ah... an item of magic. No wonder you don't want people knowing about this."

"Yes, but what is it worth?" Eragon asked impatiently.

"I'm not sure, although a collector could pay much for this but until I'm sure of the price – I'm sorry but – I won't pay you."

Eragon sat back in his seat and thought about Merlock's answer. If he were to give Merlock the stone to take on his travels then he would have to wait at least another year for Merlock to return and there was the possibility that he would forget about it.

"Thank you for your time." As Eragon stood to leave Merlock leaned over and said quietly:

"You would do well to keep this stone a secret or else the King may find that you should be punished for trying to sell it or not giving it to his magicians to examine..."

"Thank you. I will keep that in mind."

Eragon picked up the stone and stepped out of the caravan. Just as he was putting the stone away he saw movement behind one of the nearby caravans. Eragon quickly put the stone away and hurried back to his barracks.

_I hope no one is spying on me. I will have to keep in my guard just in case._

As Eragon was scheduled to leave in two days time he asked his commander if it would be alright to set off a day early so he wouldn't have to rush. His commander agreed.

Eragon quickly packed his few things and donned the armour he had been given to travel in. He made his way over to the stables where he was given a light bay.

Eragon decided to leave straight away without saying goodbye to the few friends he had made.

They rode long into the night with Eragon getting directions from the map he had been given and eventually found a nice spot to camp in and spend the night.

As Eragon was about o fall asleep he heard a noise and grabbed the knife from under his pillow. _There it is again!_

Eragon realised that the noise was coming from his pack and it could only be the egg. _Oh great! I can't sell this stupid stone and now it's going to keep me up all night!_

Eragon tried to block out the noise and was about to fall asleep again when he heard something start to crack...

**A/N – Review!! D**


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